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| Rails Girls Galway, DERI NUI Galway, 2013 |
For the
second year in succession, an important, beneficial and exciting event aimed
towards females interested in computing technology and engineering will take
place this summer in NUI Galway.
Entitled ‘Rails Girls Galway’, it is part of a
worldwide movement that hopes to bridge the gender divide in technology and to
facilitate women in learning how to code.
The free weekend workshop will provide
women with the tools and the collective learning community to build web
applications and software services. It will be held on Friday and Saturday June 20th
to June 21st at the Insight
Centre for Data Analytics located in the Dangan IDA/NUIG Business Park.
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| Rails Girls Galway, DERI NUI Galway, 2013 |
The organisers comprise mainly
young female IT researchers involved in local third level colleges, businesses,
schools and volunteer digital makers’ clubs. Though primarily targeting the
local female population, there will also be participants from across Ireland and
from overseas.
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| 091 Labs PRO, Alanna Kelly, working on a 1982 Dragon 32 at the Computer & Communications Museum NUIG |
The weekend event is free, is open to all women of any age from
sixteen years upwards, and is suitable for those who wish to learn how to code
to those who are experienced programmers. The workshops will use 'Ruby on
Rails', a powerful web application framework for the Ruby programming
language.
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| Mercy Secondary girls & teacher with Ina O'Murchú |
According to Myriam Leggieri, Insight researcher and one of the chief
organisers, “Last year’s event in Galway was an outstanding success with women
of all ages from a range of backgrounds learning together. We want to build on
the dynamic that was so evident in 2013 and to make ‘Rail Girls’ an annual activity
in a city that is and can develop even more as a vibrant hub for digital industries
and innovation. Ireland needs a generation of indigenous young coders of both
sexes to help lay the foundations of the ‘Knowledge Economy’ and create the products
for a sustainable future. But there is in particular a serious shortage of
female IT developers in the country and across the world as well as in the professions
of science, technology, engineering and maths professions generally. There is
no reason why this should be the case except for a lack of exposure to such
environments. Events such as 'Rails Girls' directly address this issue and
empower girls to take the first step in learning these in-demand skills and
acquiring the skills to conquer one of the last great frontiers of science,
namely the World Wide Web.”
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| Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland, Insight, NUI Galway |
The first event, launched by Linda Liukas and Karri Saarinen, was held in
Helsinki in 2010. It now is a worldwide phenomena. Karri succinctly summarised
the philosophy behind the movement:
“The Internet was built by and for boys. As a girl, one often
feels like lacking the vocabulary to access it. With ‘Rails for Girls’, we want
to demystify the world of web applications and encourage women to learn about
software development and programming. We believe that women need the skills and
language to understand that world.”
| Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland, Insight, NUI Galway |
Further information and
application forms are available at www.railsgirls.com/galway. There are a limited amount of places
available so prompt registration is recommended. Closing date is June 5th. So
apply now!
| Mother & daughter, Coderdojo Galway city, Insight, NUI Galway |
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